243 is an excellent cartridge and with the right barrel, it'll perform well at long range for varmints and targets. But, it lack's terminal performance for big deer at longer ranges.

25-06 is a great cartridge with a poor selection of high BC bullets for maximizing long range performance. Mine had a slow twist and won't stabilize the 115 VLDs which are not what I consider high BC anyways. Nonetheless, it was a great varmint rifle with the 80 gr TTSX's before I rebarreled it to 6.5x284 although factory ammo is limitted.

270 has a slight edge over 25-06 and 243 for long range big game and I'm eager to try the Matrix 165's.

With better bullet choices and more energy, 7 Rem Mag will do a better job on big game at 800 yds. A good muzzle break tames the recoil nicely.

These are all good choices that I own and shoot regularly. Just know your limits and keep in mind that a smaller caliber that's built right will trump a larger one that's not. ...or, vice versa.

I get the feeling the OP means Factory Rifle with Factory Ammo. In this case the clear winner is the 25-06. Now if you Build a 243, and you reload, then the story line begins to blur.

Is there any Off The Shelf 25-06 ammo using the 115gr Berger VLD? For long range, thats about as good as it gets for the 25. I have not bought ammo (other than .22lr) in over 20 years, so other than seeing whats on the shelf when I buy my .22lr ammo, I really do not know. Reloading FTW!

I get the feeling the OP means Factory Rifle with Factory Ammo. In this case the clear winner is the 25-06. Now if you Build a 243, and you reload, then the story line begins to blur.

Is there any Off The Shelf 25-06 ammo using the 115gr Berger VLD? For long range, thats about as good as it gets for the 25. I have not bought ammo (other than .22lr) in over 20 years, so other than seeing whats on the shelf when I buy my .22lr ammo, I really do not know. Reloading FTW!

Have a good one,
Gary

If that's the case, then no wonder the son prefers the 270. Smart kid.

270 is a nice hunting round to be sure! I was at K-Mart yesterday, and got another box of winchester .22lr. Looking at the other ammo on the shelf, 243, 30-30, 308, 270, 30-06, 7mmRM, and 300WM. Of all of them the 308 and 7mmRM had quite a few more choices on the shelf. Where you live things may well be different. It seemed odd to me, to not see the 25-06 on the shelf.